This year, the hot new body part is the formerly unnoticed span of flesh between the top of one’s panties and the labia majora, currently displayed on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition by the model Hannah Davis.

The m.p. has made its debut. The author goes on to say that this body part is now on women’s radar and it’s out to prompt an internal dialogue: I never thought about correcting that area before – but maybe I should?

Maybe it’s age and I’m growing more comfortable with what I have goin’ on or maybe it’s because I am way too modest for that part to ever be shown to the public eye but I’m rather unaffected by the Sports Illustrated cover. I almost feel bad for the model – was her bikini bod not enough? They had to go beyond that?

The first thing I think about in the morning is the Hu Kitchen mashbar (think vegan parfait bar with chia, taro, cashew puddings + more) mixed with some steel cut oatmeal – yum! However, I’ve been conscious to consume foods that heal-cleanse-detox lately. The holiday season and my love for the carb|cheese combination resulted in my body, energy and stomach feeling wonky.

Although all the components of the mashbar and oatmeal are healthy, sugar and grains only aggravate the body when inflamed. Instead an Avocado Smoothie it was: Avocado, Homemade Coconut Milk, Coconut Water, Fresh Lime Juice. It tasted like a summer and felt very cooling to the body (on this cold day)!

If you’re not familiar with Hu, I’d encourage you to go! Taste their foods and at the very least explore their website and read their badass manifestos / food philosophies. They are a fantastic representation of food and ingredient integrity. For example:

We were frustrated with the food options available today. We were even more frustrated with the half-truths that many in the food industry were peddling. It’s one thing to sell adulterated, highly-processed foods; it’s another thing entirely to hijack words like “healthy” and “natural” in order to sell them. These words used to mean something. It’s time to take them back.

“As women we have internalized the idea that every morning we wake up, we have to go for the fucking gold. You can’t just jog, you have to run a triathlon. Having a cup of coffee, reading the paper and heading to work isn’t enough – that’s settling, that’s giving in, that’s letting them win. You have to wake up, have a cup of coffee, conquer France, bake a perfect cake, take a boxing class, and figure out how you are going to get that corner office or become district supervisor, while also looking damn sexy – but not too sexy, because cleavage is degrading – all before lunchtime.” – Zosia Mamet

Our guest poster is my good friend Jami – a native Californian who graced Manhattan with her presence two years ago. I met Jami somewhere over the Atlantic en route to our study abroad program in Siena and Florence, Italy. We ate our way through that country and have been friends ever since. Originally posted on her sister’s hysterical blog imightbefunny.com.

Living in a city with endless opportunities gives you the silly notion that you should maybe not order sushi to your doorstep and watch a marathon of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills for the 3rd night in a row because it is exactly 12 degrees outside, and rather you should…try something new.

Enter “Aerial Arts of NYC Beginner Silks Class”.

Aerial as in happening in the air. Silks as in Cirque. Cirque as in Circus. As in on what planet was I qualified for this? I did gymnastics once when I was 6, and I’m pretty sure I quit at 6 ½.

The website said “you will learn, sequences, drops, slides, and flips that allow you descend the fabric with style, poise and grace”.

As I am trying to picture myself gliding through the air, effortlessly and angelically, maybe some Adele playing in the background, I quickly snap back to reality. Drops…slides…and flips…?!? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I am inclined to think we should start with something more intro-level, like a somersault? Maybe stretch out the silk and rest in it hammock-like to warm up?

I recruited 2 friends, Felicia and Yasmine, to fill out my Ringling Bros trio. But instead of Style, Poise and Grace, we were Awkward, Clumsy and Uncomfortable.

First of all, to my shock (and horror) they let any klutz walk off the street, climb 30 ft in the air on a piece of slippery fabric, with no harness, no safety net, and a mat at the bottom that is about 20 inches wide. The chances of me landing on that mat as I plummeted to the ground were about the same as sky diving into a fishbowl.

Clearly, we had to sign a waiver. (“I ______ hereby acknowledge that should I drop, slip, or flip off the silk in a manner that contorts my body in such a way that I can no longer feel my limbs or turn my neck to the left, NYC Aerial Arts will not be held liable.)

Nonetheless, Yasmine, Felicia and I bravely foolishly had faith in our athletic ability.

Yasmine’s Aerial career started at 7:00pm and ended at 7:53. She will forever be revered for her long limbs, which flailed about haphazardly and frantically.

Felicia showed more potential, but needed to work on her “performance quality” – namely not looking utterly and completely terrified 98% of the time.

And as for me, the judges noted a half-decent starting sequence, giving way to a rather abysmal landing. AKA I was able to scurry my way up the silk rather easily – and maybe during our second class I will learn how the hell you are supposed to get down once you are suspended in the air by…oh yeah…nothing but your feeble arm strength.

I don’t think Barnum & Bailey will be knocking on our door any time soon, but we unanimously applauded ourselves for the valiant effort – and promptly treated ourselves to gelato. Which we had to walk exactly 37ft to find.

After years of navigating my own personal thoughts on food and eating the below quote from the quirky raw foodist David Wolfe absolutely reflects how I feel about eating healthy and what I’d like to portray to my friends, family and clients. Being healthy is not about willpower or deprivation and it’s no longer driven by vanity like my teenage years.

Being healthy…

“Being healthy has everything to do with having a good time – it has nothing to do with pain and suffering. It has nothing to do with forcing yourself to do anything. It has nothing to do with over disciplining yourself to the point of agony. It has everything to do with joy and happiness – that is what health is about. And if food is activating that in you or making the food is activating that in you then you’re on the right track.”

I’ve never had flawless skin – it was always manageable but during a period of intense stress in my life cystic acne joined the party and each cyst wouldn’t leave for two to three weeks at a time. In my case, the cysts were a response to inflammation due to stress – for you it may be hormonal imbalances or food intolerances. I started doing a lot of research into how to combat these guys from the inside out because topicals and my Clarisonic just weren’t working.Here are some supplements / foods that I’ve recently researched and integrated into my diet on the daily. Paired with stress reduction these have improved my skin immensely:

-Flaxseed Oil or Fish Oil acts as an anti-inflammatory because of its Omega 3 content. I prefer flaxseed (because I don’t eat fish to begin with) and I like Barlean’s brand. You can take it by the spoonful or mix it into a smoothie or juice.

-Zinc: You can either buy a supplement or you can get the proper amount by eating a handful / handful and a half of raw cashews each day. Zinc helps because it plays a role in skin cell rejuvenation.

-Magnesium: Again you can either buy a supplement or you can get the proper amount by eating a serving or two of cacao nibs each day. Cacao is considered a superfood (meaning it’s antioxidant level is crazy high) and it’s where chocolate is originally derived from. The nibs taste somewhat bitter and crunchy and nothing like chocolate, unfortunately. Magnesium is good for fighting skin infections.

I don’t have any before pictures because I avoided the camera like the plague when my skin was bad but here is an “after”, makeupless, filterless picture.

Makeup Free

I’m going to be writing more about this topic so please let me know (in the comments below) if you have any “inside out” beauty aids that you’d like to share!

In What REALLY Kills Us Dr. David Katz, an IIN Lecturer, argues that heart disease, cancer, stroke, etc. are not the leading causes of death in America but are rather the effects of poor lifestyle factors – the top three being tobacco, diet and physical activity level. He points out the link between our everyday actions and major diseases and puts the responsibility of your health on you – his potential patient. This has all been said, researched and concluded before yet disease rates are going up, not down, despite the push for prevention and pro-active habits. Action is not being taken because the “get healthy”/ “lose weight” recommendation has no real chance if the potential patient doesn’t know what they are doing or how to execute change. They must be taught.

“As a society, we clearly know the ‘what,’ but as individuals and families; spouses and siblings; parents and grandparents — most of us, just as clearly, don’t know how. How, despite the challenges of modern living, do we adopt, maintain, and enjoy a healthful diet? How, despite those same challenges, do we fit fitness in? How do we navigate around other challenges, from sleep deprivation and lack of energy, to overwhelming stress, to chronic pain?

These questions have answers, and I know them. I know them not because I’m special, but because it’s my job to know them. Pilots know how to fly planes; nuclear physicists know how to split atoms. I am a health expert, and I know how to get to health and weight control from here. Like any worthwhile thing, it requires a skill set.”

Although I think Dr. Katz is the exception and that few MDs are well versed in prescribing “get healthy”outside of the calories in vs. calories out model, let’s assume they don’t have the time/resources to hold a patient’s hand through the learning curve. What appears? A gap where Heath Coaches can comfortably find their place.